News

MERRILLVILLE, Ind., May 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) announced today that it has established an "at-the-market" equity offering program under which it may sell shares of its common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $500 million.

NiSource has entered into separate equity distribution agreements with each of Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets and BNP PARIBAS in their capacity as agents (the "Agents"). Pursuant to these agreements, sales of shares of NiSource's common stock may be made in transactions that are deemed to be "at-the-market" offerings, including sales made by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on the New York Stock Exchange or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or as agreed to with the applicable Agent.

In addition to the issuance and sale of shares of its common stock through the Agents, NiSource may enter into forward sale agreements with affiliates of Morgan Stanley and BofA Merrill Lynch, in their capacity as forward purchasers (the "Forward Purchasers"). In connection with each such forward sale agreement, the applicable Forward Purchaser will, at NiSource's request, borrow from third parties and, through Morgan Stanley or BofA Merrill Lynch, as applicable, sell a number of shares of common stock equal to the number of shares underlying such forward purchase agreement to hedge such forward purchase agreement.

NiSource intends to use the proceeds from the sales, if any, of the shares of its common stock to finance capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes.

A registration statement relating to these securities has become effective under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The offering is being made by means of a prospectus supplement to the prospectus contained in the registration statement. Before making an investment in these securities, potential investors should read the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus for more complete information about NiSource and the offering. Potential investors may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, potential investors may contact any Agent participating in the offering, who will arrange to send them these documents: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC,
Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, Second Floor, New York, New York 10014; BofA Merrill Lynch, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, North Carolina 28255-0001, Attention: Prospectus Department, email: dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com; RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10281, Telephone (877-822-4089), email: equityprospectus@rbccm.com; or BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, Telephone (888-860-5378), email: nyk_elo@us.bnpparibas.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

About NiSourceNiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) is one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across seven states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. Based in Merrillville, Indiana, as of December 31, 2016, NiSource had approximately 8,000 employees. NI-F

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Investors and prospective investors should understand that many factors govern whether any forward-looking statement contained herein will be or can be realized. Any one of those factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Examples of forward-looking statements in this press release include statements and expectations regarding NiSource's business, performance, growth, investment opportunities, and planned, identified, infrastructure or utility investments. All forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that management believes to be reasonable; however, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the projections, forecasts, estimates, plans, expectations and strategy discussed in this press release include, among other things, NiSource's debt obligations; any changes in NiSource's credit rating; NiSource's ability to execute its growth strategy; changes in general economic, capital and commodity market conditions; pension funding obligations; economic regulation and the impact of regulatory rate reviews; NiSource's ability to obtain expected financial or regulatory outcomes; any damage to NiSource's reputation; compliance with environmental laws and the costs of associated liabilities; fluctuations in demand from
residential and commercial customers; economic conditions of certain industries; the success of NIPSCO's electric generation strategy; the price of energy commodities and related transportation costs; the reliability of customers and suppliers to fulfill their payment and contractual obligations; potential impairments of goodwill or definite-lived intangible assets; changes in taxation and accounting principles; potential incidents and other operating risks associated with our business; the impact of an aging infrastructure; the impact of climate change; potential cyber-attacks; construction risks and natural gas costs and supply risks; extreme weather conditions; the attraction and retention of a qualified work force; advances in technology; the ability of NiSource's subsidiaries to generate cash; uncertainties related to the expected
benefits of the separation of Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc. and other matters set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" section of NiSource's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NiSource expressly disclaims any duty to update, supplement or amend any of its forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.